Fifa president Gianni Infantino has found himself at the centre of another controversy after Concacaf president Victor Montagliani requested he stay away from a youth football event in the Dominican Republic this weekend, citing the ongoing turmoil within football's global governing body.
In a letter seen by the BBC, Montagliani, who also serves as a Fifa vice-president, pointed to what he described as the "governance crisis surrounding Fifa" as grounds for asking Infantino to reconsider his planned appearance at the CFU Under-14 Series, a tournament aimed at developing young talent across the Caribbean region.
The Canadian official warned that Infantino's attendance risked overshadowing the sporting purpose of the competition. "The media will focus on this situation, which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition," Montagliani wrote. He went further, appealing directly to Infantino's sense of responsibility toward the game: "As such, I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity."
Infantino's trip to the Dominican Republic had been arranged before his position at Fifa became so precarious, having originally been invited as a guest of the host nation. However, since accepting the invitation, the Fifa boss has become embroiled in fierce criticism over his now-abandoned Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have seen stakes in the World Cup and other major competitions sold to private investors.
Despite the backlash, Infantino received a warm welcome upon arriving in the Caribbean nation. Several Concacaf member associations have publicly expressed continued support for him to serve a fourth term as Fifa president. Dominican Republic's minister of sports and recreation, Kelvin Cruz, praised the visit in a statement, saying: "We deeply appreciate your visit to the Dominican Republic, without doubt that your presence in our country puts us on the international football radar and opens us great prospects for growth and development of Dominican football."
The Under-14 tournament itself forms part of a broader set of development initiatives financed by Fifa's Forward programme, which channels funding into grassroots and youth football projects around the world.
The request from Montagliani comes amid mounting pressure on Infantino following the collapse of his FFE plan, which drew sharp condemnation from multiple continental confederations. Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation jointly issued an open letter accusing the Fifa president of breaking trust "through deception" over the handling of the proposal.
Adding to the controversy, Fifa's recent decision to dismiss senior executive Kevin Lamour, after he voiced criticism of Infantino, has also drawn scrutiny from within football's governing structures.
Not all confederations have turned against the embattled president, however. Both Conmebol, South America's governing body, and Caf, representing African football, have continued to back Infantino despite the growing unrest elsewhere in the sport's administration.
As the youth tournament prepares to get under way in the Dominican Republic, the episode underscores the wider institutional divisions currently facing Fifa, with regional confederations increasingly split over the future leadership of the organisation.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.